Gene News and Research

Latest Gene News and Research

UCLA researchers receive $13 million NIH grant to combat melanoma

UCLA researchers have received a $13 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to find new ways to overcome melanoma resistance to some of the most promising targeted therapies and immunotherapies.

28 Sep 2020

Stanford researchers unravel how a common genetic deletion elevates schizophrenia risk

A common genetic deletion boosts the risk for schizophrenia by 30-fold. Generating nerve cells from people with the deletion has showed Stanford researchers why.

28 Sep 2020

Researchers discover specific cellular pathway involved in lung tissue regeneration

Researchers at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania have identified a cellular pathway that can be targeted with a naturally occurring drug to stimulate lung tissue regeneration, which is necessary for recovery from multiple lung injuries.

28 Sep 2020

Genetic testing is cost-effective, beneficial for newly diagnosed patients with metastatic GIST

Because gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) are sensitive to the targeted small molecule therapy imatinib, oncologists tend to treat all patients with metastatic GIST with this drug. However, because this rare type of cancer is caused by different genetic mutations, imatinib does not help all patients equally.

28 Sep 2020

Brain wiring genes may be linked to a significant portion of cerebral palsy cases

In an article published in Nature Genetics, researchers confirm that about 14% of all cases of cerebral palsy, a disabling brain disorder for which there are no cures, may be linked to a patient's genes and suggest that many of those genes control how brain circuits become wired during early development.

28 Sep 2020

Life-threatening COVID-19 associated with specific genetic variants

Results of a genome-wide association study on 2,244 critically-ill patients due to coronavirus disease (COVID-19) from 208 intensive care units across the United Kingdom revealed significant host-specific genetic determinants that can predispose people to the severe form of the disease. The report is currently available on the medRxiv preprint server.

28 Sep 2020

Epigenetic changes in the brain drive late-onset Alzheimer's disease

New findings suggest that late-onset Alzheimer's Disease is driven by epigenetic changes -- how and when certain genes are turned on and off -- in the brain. Results were published today in Nature Genetics.

28 Sep 2020

Scientists identify a new way to regulate cell plasticity

Cell plasticity is a property by which a cell can take on different and reversible identities. Cell plasticity is also essential for embryo development and for the correct function of the immune system.

28 Sep 2020

Mapping the evolutionary profile of SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 using mutation order approach

Several months into the COVID-19 pandemic caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), we still do not know much about the early evolutionary history and order of mutational events of the virus during this pandemic.

28 Sep 2020

Targeted therapy found to be effective at shrinking tumors in patients with nonsmall-cell lung cancer

An international team of researchers has found that selpercatinib, a drug that precisely targets cancers driven by mutations or alterations in the gene RET, was effective at shrinking tumours in patients with nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC), with a majority of patients living for more than a year without disease progression.

28 Sep 2020

Study identifies genes linked with abdominal aortic aneurysm

A veteran's study identified more than a dozen genes associated with abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) that could be used to better identify people at risk for the often-deadly condition, according to new research published today in the American Heart Association's flagship journal Circulation.

28 Sep 2020

Anti-N-protein IgG may predict severity of COVID-19

A recent study by researchers at the University of Miami, Miami VA Healthcare System and Express Gene and published on the preprint server medRxiv in September 2020 reports on the prognostic significance of the anti-N Immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

28 Sep 2020

Risk factors for mortality among hospitalized patients with COVID-19

A new study by scientists at biotechnology company Genentech, Inc., and published on the preprint server medRxiv in September 2020 attempts to identify the factors which may shape the risk for death in COVID-19 disease.

27 Sep 2020

CRISPR screening identifies human host pathways that facilitate coronavirus infection

The human coronavirus family consists of 7 known pathogens, for which there are no approved vaccines or specific therapeutic options. Although the seasonal human coronaviruses - OC43, HKU1, 229E, and NL63 – only cause mild respiratory infections, three highly pathogenic coronaviruses that emerged in the last two decades revealed the pandemic potential of this family of viruses.

27 Sep 2020

Bacteria-free method for making SARS-CoV-2 infectious clones

Using a circular polymerase chain reaction, researchers have developed a method for making severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) recombinant virus, with the ability to introduce mutations. The research by Japanese scientists is published on the preprint server bioRxiv* in September 2020.

27 Sep 2020

Researchers elucidate the impact of genetic mutations in cocaine addiction

Cocaine addiction is a chronic disorder with a high rate of relapse for which no effective treatment is currently available.

26 Sep 2020

New optical switch to precisely control the lifespan of genetic 'copies'

A novel optical switch makes it possible to precisely control the lifespan of genetic "copies". These are used by the cell as building instructions for the production of proteins.

25 Sep 2020

Study identifies potential drug target for dangerous E. coli infections

Escherichia coli, known as E. coli, are bacteria which many people associate with causing mild food poisoning, but some types of E. coli can be fatal.

25 Sep 2020

People with one albinism gene mutation may be prone to pale-colored melanomas

People with pale-colored melanomas are more likely to have a gene mutation associated with albinism, University of Queensland research has found.

25 Sep 2020

Alzheimer’s disease-associated protective genetic variant enhances key functions of immune cells

A new study conducted by researchers at the University of Eastern Finland found that the PLCG2-P522R genetic variant, which protects against Alzheimer's disease, enhances several key functions of immune cells. The results obtained in the study highlight the importance of immune cells as a target of future development of new therapies for Alzheimer's disease.

25 Sep 2020

Gene News and Research

Latest Gene News and Research

UCLA researchers receive $13 million NIH grant to combat melanoma

Stanford researchers unravel how a common genetic deletion elevates schizophrenia risk

Researchers discover specific cellular pathway involved in lung tissue regeneration

Genetic testing is cost-effective, beneficial for newly diagnosed patients with metastatic GIST

Brain wiring genes may be linked to a significant portion of cerebral palsy cases

Life-threatening COVID-19 associated with specific genetic variants

Epigenetic changes in the brain drive late-onset Alzheimer's disease

Scientists identify a new way to regulate cell plasticity

Mapping the evolutionary profile of SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 using mutation order approach

Targeted therapy found to be effective at shrinking tumors in patients with nonsmall-cell lung cancer

Study identifies genes linked with abdominal aortic aneurysm

Anti-N-protein IgG may predict severity of COVID-19

Risk factors for mortality among hospitalized patients with COVID-19

CRISPR screening identifies human host pathways that facilitate coronavirus infection

Bacteria-free method for making SARS-CoV-2 infectious clones

Researchers elucidate the impact of genetic mutations in cocaine addiction

New optical switch to precisely control the lifespan of genetic 'copies'

Study identifies potential drug target for dangerous E. coli infections

People with one albinism gene mutation may be prone to pale-colored melanomas

Alzheimer’s disease-associated protective genetic variant enhances key functions of immune cells

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